L.A. as Subject

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/13

What happens when collecting becomes more than a hobby? In an ongoing partnership among KCETLink, USC Libraries and the libraries’ LA as Subject partners, KCETLink’s Emmy Award-winning arts and culture series Artbound presents “Monomania L.A.” The one-hour episode profiles five LA as Subject collectors and their monomaniacal obsession with a particular aspect of Los Angeles history. It premieres at 8 p.m. March 17 on KCET in Southern California and at 8 p.m. March 23 on Link TV nationally. Keep reading to learn more about "Monomania L.A."

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/05

Thanks to generous support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the USC Libraries recently made available a wealth of archival materials documenting the prodigious creative efforts of mid-century L.A. architect Edward H. Fickett, FAIA. Fickett's residential projects -- including single-family homes and apartment buildings like the Sunset Lanai -- dot the Southland, and he is also well-known for his design projects at Dodger Stadium, Edwards Air Force Base, and the Port of Los Angeles. You can now find a selection of photographs and drawings of his buildings via the USC Digital Library and Historypin. Keep reading for more details about the project and the USC Libraries' Fickett collection.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/28

What happens when collecting becomes more than a hobby? A new series of short documentary films profiles four L.A. as Subject collectors who have obsessively focused on a narrow slice of Southern California history. Produced by the USC Libraries with generous support from Cal Humanities, Monomania L.A. is directed by Joris Debeij and hosted by David Kipen, who also serves as humanities advisor. The first three films were introduced at the October 25 Archives Bazaar (the fourth is currently in production) and the entire series will air later this year on public television station KCET. In the meantime, you can watch the videos online on the L.A. as Subject website.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/24

Thanks to a recent NHPRC grant, USC Libraries archivists are processing the papers of mid-century architect Edward H. Fickett FAIA. The project will make available a wealth of historic photographs and drawings revealing Fickett's vision for buildings that have become emblems of Southern California architecture and mid-century living. Keep reading for 1954 photographs of the Hollywood Riviera apartments by George de Gennaro and the latest project updates.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/08

The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded the USC Libraries and the L.A. as Subject research alliance a grant to develop a residency program that will support archival education among Los Angeles community archives. The grant is part of the IMLS Laura Bush 21st-Century Librarian Program, which funds training of early-career librarians to manage emerging challenges in libraries and librarianship. Keep reading to learn more about the residency program.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/30

The USC Libraries and KCETLink have partnered to create a series of videos drawing upon the collections of libraries, museums and private archives that make up the LA as Subject research group. The inaugural episodes, titled Incline LA, reveal the history of Angels Flight and other incline railways that once fulfilled an essential transportation function throughout Los Angeles. The first installment — covering the Angels Flight and Court Flight railways, or funiculars, in downtown LA — premieres today at 4:00 p.m. on KCET.org. Future episodes will tell the stories of Mount Washington, Catalina Island and Echo Mountain railways. Keep reading to learn more about the new collaboration.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/14

The USC Libraries and L.A. as Subject have launched a new online collaboration with Los Angeles magazine, and L.A. as Subject's partnership with KCET-TV, now nearly two years old, recently passed a major milestone with the 100th online feature about Southern California history. Keep reading to learn more about the joint ventures, which highlight the USC Libraries' role as host institution for L.A. as Subject and are part of the libraries' continuing efforts to promote and improve access to the primary sources of our region's history.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/02

USC's Doheny Memorial Library hosted the 7th-annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar this past Saturday, October 27. LAistand The Modern Hiker both covered the daylong celebration of Los Angeles history. Ethnomusicology Review, The Daily Mirror, and Metro's The Source blog also featured the bazaar. Keep reading to learn more about the blogs' coverage of the event.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/19

The USC Libraries will present a series of events on Thursday, Oct. 25, celebrating the work and life of poet Robinson Jeffers. The panels and exhibition will explore Jeffers’ relationship to the natural world, Jeffers and the art of the book, and his story as a young poet in early 20th-century Los Angeles. Jeffers manuscripts and photographs, many of which are rarely seen by the public, will be on view. Keep reading to learn more about the festival.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/17

From the activists who struggled for social justice in their neighborhoods to the trolleys that once connected far-flung communities, Los Angeles history comes alive Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in USC’s Doheny Memorial Library at the 7th-annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar. Presented by L.A. as Subject and the USC Libraries, the daylong event offers encounters with exhibits from more than 80 historical collections and archives. This year’s Archives Bazaar also marks the opening of a new exhibition on the ground floor of Doheny Library. “Water and Power” explores, through more than two dozen images from L.A. as Subject member institutions, the roles water and power—figuratively and literally—have played in shaping Los Angeles history. Keep reading to learn more about the bazaar and new exhibition, or RSVP now to attend the opening reception for "Water and Power," beginning immediately after the bazaar at 5 p.m.